Good morning, everybody. I want to say a few words about the explosions
that occurred here in New York City and New Jersey and the other devices
that have been found in New Jersey. Iíve been monitoring the situation
closely and receiving frequent updates from my team. And Iíve just been
briefed again by FBI Director Comey. In addition, I've had a chance to
speak with Governors Cuomo and Christie, as well as Mayor de Blasio.

Weíve seen what was apparently a pipe bomb go off in New Jersey, in
Seaside Park, where it could have seriously injured our U.S. Marines and
spectators who were there for a race. The bombing in the Chelsea
neighborhood, here in New York, injured more than two dozen people. We
are extremely fortunate and grateful that nobody was killed. And our
prayers go out to all those who have been injured. We want to wish them
a speedy recovery.

I especially want to commend all the outstanding police and first
responders in both New York City and New Jersey for their extraordinary
professionalism and their quick response, which surely prevented even
more people from being hurt, and ensured that people got assistance
quickly.

The investigation is moving rapidly, and as is my practice, Iím going to
leave it to the FBI and law enforcement to provide details. I think
everybody is aware at this point that there is a person of interest who
is the focus of the investigation. And the FBI can give you further
details in terms of how that is proceeding.

I told Governors Cuomo and Christie and Mayor de Blasio that they and
their teams will continue to have all federal support as they move ahead
with their investigations, and tracking down every lead, and working to
keep the people of this city and of this region safe. Law enforcement
is asking for the help of the community. And so to everybody in this
region, I want to repeat what we've said before: If you see something
suspicious, then you need to say something -- contact local law
enforcement.

In the meantime, I would ask that the press try to refrain from getting
out ahead of the investigation. I am extraordinarily happy with the
cooperation that's been taking place between the FBI and state and local
law enforcement officials. They are moving smartly on this
investigation. It does not help if false reports or incomplete
information is out there. So try to, as much as possible, stick to what
our investigators say, because they actually know what they're talking
about.

Meanwhile, I know that the United Nations meetings here every year
already create an additional workload for New York. But given the U.N.
meetings, we also have a particularly high level of federal resources
here to help as needed. Weíre going to make sure that everybody is
working together seamlessly, as one team, to get to the bottom of what
happened, to find those responsible, and to make sure that justice is
done.

Meanwhile, while all this is going on in New York and New Jersey, weíre
also focused on the stabbing attack at the shopping mall in Minnesota.
At this point, we see no connection between that incident and what
happened here in New York and New Jersey. Our attention there is on the
people who were injured. And again, we are very grateful that no one
lost their life. Thanks to the quick action of a brave off-duty police
officer, the suspect was killed and we avoided more people being hurt.

I had a chance also to speak with Governor Dayton this morning. I
assured him that we will provide all the assistance that he needs in the
investigation. The FBI is investigating the Minnesota incident as a
potential act of terrorism. We will direct the full resources of the
federal government to make sure that the investigation goes forward
aggressively.

And finally, I want to take this opportunity to reassure the people in
this city, in this region, and Americans across our country that our
counterterrorism and law enforcement professionals at every level --
federal, state and local -- are working together, around the clock, to
prevent attacks and to keep us safe. They are the best of the best.
Over the years, they have thwarted many plots and saved many lives.
And we are incredibly grateful for their service, today and every
single day.

We will continue to lead the global coalition in the fight to destroy
ISIL, which is instigating a lot of people over the Internet to carry
out attacks. We are going to continue to go after them. We're going to
take out their leaders. We're going to take out their infrastructure.
They are continuing to lose ground in Iraq and in Syria. And later
today, Iíll be meeting with Prime Minister Abadi of Iraq to discuss the
need to sustain that momentum. As we take away more of their territory,
it exposes ISIL as the failed cause that it is. And it helps to
undermine their ideology, which over time will make it harder for them
to recruit and inspire people to violence. And we're going to continue
to enlist tech companies and community and religious leaders to push
back against online extremist content and all messages of hate.

At moments like this, I think itís important to remember what terrorists
and violent extremists are trying to do. They are trying to hurt
innocent people, but they also want to inspire fear in all of us, and
disrupt the way we live, to undermine our values. And so, even as we
have to be vigilant and aggressive, both in preventing senseless acts of
violence but also making sure that we find those who carry out such acts
and bring them to justice, we all have a role to play as citizens in
making sure that we donít succumb to that fear. And thereís no better
example of that than the people of New York and New Jersey.

When I was speaking to Governor Cuomo and Governor Christie and Mayor De
Blasio, one point that they all made is, folks around here, they donít
get scared. Theyíre tough, theyíre resilient, they go about their
business every single day. And that kind of toughness and resoluteness,
and a recognition that neither individuals nor organizations like ISIL
can ultimately undermine our way of life, thatís the kind of strength
that makes me so proud to be an American. And thatís the kind of
strength that is going to be absolutely critical not just in the days to
come but in the years to come.

By showing those who want to do us harm that they will never beat us, by
showing the entire world that as Americans we do not, and never will,
give in to fear, thatís going to be the most important ingredient in us
defeating those who would carry our terrorist acts against us.

Thank you very much, everybody. And as I said, you will be receiving,
Iím sure, ongoing briefings from both the FBI and local law enforcement
in terms of the details of the investigation.